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Danielle was kidnapped from her bedroom the night of February 1 and police began constantly monitoring Westerfield, her 50-year-old neighbor, four days later.

The conclusions of the two entomologists are the defense's strongest evidence for Westerfield's innocence. Defense lawyer Steven Feldman told jurors during opening statements that "science" would rescue Westerfield by proving it was not physically possible for him to be at the site at the precise time her body was dumped.
(Plus he had less than 20 minutes to get in, hide, wait, hit Danielle, carry her to the garage, then back to the slider and out the sticky gate, ALL BEFORE Brenda and swing set arrived home.)
Entomologist David Faulkner testified earlier in the defense case that infestation likely occurred between February 16 and February 18.

"He had a narrower time frame than me," Haskell said when pressed on the disparity by prosecutor Jeff Dusek. "I was being more conservative."

Forensic entomologists cannot testify as to the time death occurred, but can estimate the time a dead body was first colonized by insects. Infestation can occur as soon as 20 minutes after death, but could take longer depending on the climate and whether the body has been covered, experts say.

Prosecutors, who have amassed a pile of other forensic evidence linking Westerfield to the kidnapping and murder, are taking the entomological challenge to their case very seriously. They have hired at least one insect expert, M. Lee Goff of Hawaii, to reanalyze the evidence. Goff and Haskell squared off in another case, the murder trial of Thomas "Zoo Man" Huskey, a serial killer in Tennessee.

* John Joseph DeBlase faces two counts of aggravated child abuse and two counts of abuse of a corpse.

Police in Mobile, Alabama, said Sunday they are "actively searching" for the bodies of two young children believed killed by their father and stepmother.

Authorities began investigating a missing persons report on Jonathan DeBlase, 3, and his older sister Natalie, 4, on November 19. However, the children have not been seen since late June, said Officer Christopher Levy, spokesman for Mobile police.
(July, August, September, October, November. Makes perfect sense.
Dead children all over the internet. Why?)

The children's father, John Joseph DeBlase, 27, was arrested Friday. He faces two counts of aggravated child abuse and two counts of abuse of a corpse, Mobile police said in a statement.
(Based upon WHAT EVIDENCE?)

Stepmother Heather Keaton was arrested earlier in Louisville, Kentucky, and faces two counts of willful abuse and neglect of a child, police said.

The case that always pops into my mind when I hear about a child disappearing while camping or hiking is the case of little Laura Bradbury (3 years old) who disappeared fom her family's campsite in Joshua Tree National Park (near Palm Springs, CA) in 1984. There was a big search and I remember daily updates in the news for quite some time. I have a vague memory that then child actor, Rick Schroeder, made some public pleas for her safe return. She was a distant relative of his.

I did a web search to try to find information about this case and only found some references which say that she was never found and is believed to have been abducted. I am surprised that her family doesn't have a website for her and that she is not on the official missing children sites (as far as I could find).

Anybody remember this case?

I have thought of this case many times over the past 20 years. I lived in Riverside, CA at the time. Also with a small daughter who resembled Laura.
It haunted me all through the Danielle Van Dam case. Wondering if Westerfield may have been camping at Joshua Tree when Laura disappeared.
Think about it.....Motorhomes, desert, little girl. I always felt that Danielle Van Dam was not his first victim.
(How far is Joshua Tree from Big Bear? Not found in the desert as far as the "official story" goes.)

New subject: Kidnapping of Danielle. I suspect Westerfield went to the beach and deposited the poor girl in the ocean and then drove to the desert as a decoy. Stuck in the sand was a chance to have a witness, the tow truck driver, and leaving his leveling jacks for his motorhome was another false clue. Rumor, here, is that Mrs. Van Dam rejected his request to join the wife swapping club and to take revenge, he did the unthinkable. If the judge allows tv cameras in the court room, it'll be a circus ala OJ Simpson trial. I've rambled too much.\ Good luck. GG

A chronology of events surrounding Danielle van Dam's disappearance, as outlined by Brenda and Damon van Dam in court yesterday:

FRIDAY, FEB. 1

5:30 p.m.: Brenda, Danielle and Danielle's two brothers arrive at their Sabre Springs home after running errands. Brenda orders a pizza from Domino's, then leaves to pick it up.

6:30: Damon comes home from work. Brenda returns a few minutes later and the family eats dinner. Damon plays video games with his sons while Danielle reads and writes in her journal.

About 7:30: Two of Brenda's friends arrive. The women go to the garage, where they smoke a marijuana cigarette. The friends, Barbara and Denise, share a beer. Damon joins them for a few minutes, taking a drag or two off the joint. They open a side door to let out smoke.

About 8: Brenda and her friends leave for Dad's Cafe in Poway, about a five-minute drive. Brenda notices David Westerfield is there.

Within the hour, the women run into some male friends -- Keith and Rich. They talk for a while, then the women play pool. They dance for hours, and at one point go outside to smoke marijuana in Brenda's truck.

Back in Sabre Springs, Damon puts the children to bed about 10 and watches television downstairs for a while. He then retreats to the bedroom.

10:45: Damon turns off the TV and drifts off to sleep.

Danielle Van Damme went missing on Friday night, February 1, 2002

SATURDAY, FEB. 2 (New Day, it's Saturday MORNING.)

About 1:45 a.m.: The family dog wakes Damon. He lets it outside for a few minutes. Then he crawls back into bed, switching on the TV while he waits for Brenda to get home.

1:50 a.m.: Brenda arrives home with her friends. The male friends follow in another car.

The group goes inside for leftover pizza, and Brenda notices that an alarm light is flickering. She walks upstairs to tell Damon she's home.

Barbara goes upstairs and climbs on top of the covers next to Damon, who is under the sheets. He puts his arm around her, kisses her and rubs her back.

Brenda heads downstairs to look for an open door or window. The side door in the garage is open, and one of her friends closes it.

Brenda goes back upstairs, tells Damon and Barbara they are being rude and asks them to go downstairs. They have pizza.

2:30: The visitors leave and the van Dams go to bed.

About 2:45 to 3: Damon wakes and notices the security light blinking. He finds a sliding glass door open downstairs. After closing it, he goes back to bed.

8:15: Damon wakes.

Just before 9: Brenda gets up and takes a shower.

The child was not reported missing until Saturday, February 2, 2002.

About 9:30: A neighbor drops off her children for Brenda to baby-sit. Brenda goes upstairs to check on Danielle and finds her daughter's door open and "an empty bed." She and Damon frantically search the house. Unable to find Danielle, Brenda calls 911.

...LoveAngel
Guest

Thumbs down For Jeff Dillon
Thank you for your post however I note several discrepancies in it. Please take the time to verify the facts before you post a chronology.

...Damon van Dam told of lying together in the master bedroom with one of Brenda's friends, she on top of the sheets, he underneath, she kissing him while he rubbed her back for "about five minutes" after Brenda and four others arrived home that night, Feb. 1, the night Danielle disappeared.
(Correct again, and in agreement with Lt. Duncan from Homicide.)http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/new...9-vandam2.html

...'An empty bed'

In tearful testimony, she told of the panic she felt after waking up the next morning, going downstairs to make breakfast and then going back upstairs to wake her daughter and finding her gone from her pink-and-purple bedroom.

Danielle's bedroom door was open, she said, and she was asked what she saw inside.

"An empty bed."

She became frantic, she said, searching every room, looking under beds, calling her name. Her husband, Damon van Dam, began searching for Danielle outside.

...THE VAN DAMME CASE Although, Danielle Van Damme went missing on Friday night, February 1, 2002. The child was not reported missing until Saturday, February 2, 2002. Mr. Van Damme, Damon, stayed home with the kids while mom, Brenda, went out.

Comment

"There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Danielle made those prints," Graham said.
(While she was alive. Danielle goes missing on FRIDAY NIGHT, Westerfield leaves the bar around 11:30 pm FRIDAY NIGHT - 12:00 am SATURDAY MORNING. 10 minutes to drive home, leaves only 20 minutes to get in and get Danielle out. So, WHO opened the garage door and slider the victims found open at various times FRIDAY NIGHT and SATURDAY MORNING?)

Investigators believe Danielle was abducted from her bedroom the night of Feb. 1 and taken over the weekend to the Silver Strand near Coronado by Westerfield in his motor home, who then drove to the desert and back to the beach again. If convicted, Westerfield could face the death penalty.
(Congress is gunna have their hands full of this one. Maybe the dudes from the 9th Court will make a return visit to USD and WE can go argue with them over this tragedy.)

According to the timeline Brenda and the three children were out running errands. When they got home, Brenda called to order a pizza and left the kids at home alone while she went to pick it up.
And it seemed to take her an hour to get to the pizza place and bring the pizza home.
Why didn't she pick up the pizza on the way with her kids? She must have a cell phone to order it.
And if she didn't ordering a pizza to go doesn't take long.
This hour, between 5:30 pm and 6:30 pm seems very odd to me. She evidently had another errand to run where she didn't want the children involved.
One possibility is picking up the mj.

I realize that the parents' lifestyles may have nothing to do with the disappearance and murder of their child. But the 'windows of opportunity' for an intruder to get in the house, call the house, whatever, become wider and wider as timelines are published.
(...but the window of opportunity for Westerfield is CONSTANT. 11:30 pm - 12:00 am. See post about times Danielle went missing and was reported missing.)

It's possible that Danielle left the house during the time she was left alone.

In another thread, Home Alone, I questioned if there is proof that Damon was in the house after he put the children to bed and before Brenda and friends came home. A lot of 'windows' left open.

...While most of your timeline matches up to Brenda's statements there are a couple of mistakes, however they are minor.

But more importantly you must remember that THESE ARE STATEMENTS MADE BY THE VD'S, AND THEY HAVE CHNGED THEIR STORY SEVERAL TIMES.

the blinking light and open door are not based upon fact, but they are merely stories, that the vd's concocted for various reasons.

therefore the true series of facts have to be looked at carefully and corroboration & verification is pretty important before hanging you hat on it, after all the vd's have a very strong motive to make up stories, if in fact they are the ones who did this crime, which is very possible, and yes very likely!!

...Quote:
Originally posted by OkYourRightBut
Now if we only knew Westerfield's REAL timeline that would be nice. I'd love to have heard him tell us his events of the weekend of Feb. 1, 2002.
Let see how many times he would be able to keep his timeline strait. He was all over the map.
(Only time that matters is between 11:30 PM and 12:00 AM. Get over it. I'm trying to.)

...People keep talking about how the Van Dams keep changing their timelines so they can't be trusted. The statements at the prelim hearing were under oath. The police have stated publicly that they have no problem with the Van Dams and that they felt they were fully cooperative. The other "conflicting" timelines were reported in the newspapers and other media and/or were from public statements made by the van Dams.

Also, the differences I've heard -- only from the mainstream media esp. the local paper -- are very minor. The Van Dams didn't have any obligation to report minute by minute verifiable timelines to us in their press conferences, etc. In court and to the police they did have that obligation and it sounds like the PD was satisfied.

Plus the media does make errors -- I heard plenty a couple of days ago on Court TV.

Q: Isn't it the case that you went downstairs to let the dog out and check on the door?
A: I don't recall.

Q: Didn't you tell the police that at 3:30 you went downstairs to let the dog out and check the door?
A: I may have said that, but my memory is not clear now.

Q: I think it's the case you told us that when you and Brenda went to bed, you put the dog in Derrick's room … right?
A: Yes.

Q: Then if it's at 3:30, in order for you to get the dog outdoors, you'd have to open Derricks' room … is that right? To let the dog out.
A: Yes.

Q: And do you recall whether or not you did that?
A: No.

I'm sure Damon was under lots of stress and couldn't exactly recall the full sequence - but it does seem one would remember this part.

In fact, from all appearances, he had told the police he'd taken the dog downstairs at that time.

Well it has to be one way or the other: either you did take the dog down, and did make four trips down the hall past Danielle's room to do that... Or you didn't.

You tell the police you had let the dog out when you talked to them initially. Later, though, you cannot recall.

I'm not saying there is a deliberate concealment here - but it seems so strange that this crucial fact doesn't come out consistently...

I would guess this will be developed further in the trial itself. It just begs for more scrutiny, since it may be the critical timeframe for the event...

Sundial

...I JUST DON'T GET IT WHEN A PARENT CAN BLOW OFF SECURITY ALARMS, BASICALLY IGNORE A CHILD WHILE PLAYING WITH OTHER KIDS, AND THE CHILD WRITING IN HER JOURNAL, "..DADDY PLEASE LOVE ME..." WHY WOULD SHE THINK HE DIDN'T? SHE IS BEGGING HER OWN FATHER TO LOVE HER...I GET CHILLS THINKING OF THAT SWEET LITTLE GIRL WRITING THAT...OBVIOUSLY SHE COULDN'T TALK TO PARENTS ABOUT WHAT SHE WAS FEELING, THAT IS WHY SHE HAD TO KEEP A JOURNAL AT THE AGE OF 7...PERHAPS THAT WAS HER 'THERAPY'
...I FOUND A LITTLE DIARY OF MY DAUGHTERS WHEN SHE WAS ABOUT THE SAME AGE, AND IT SAYS THINGS LIKE, WHAT SHE DID THAT DAY...WHAT SHE WANTED FOR HER BIRTHDAY, STUFF LIKE THAT...THE STUFF DANIELLE WAS WRITING ABOUT SEEMS SO SERIOUS AND SAD, TOO MUCH FOR A CHILD TO BE GOING THROUGH
...AND, LAST OF ALL...IF SO MANY STRANGERS THAT NEVER EVEN KNEW DANIELLE HAVE GOTTEN SO EMOTIONAL ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED, HOW ON EARTH CAN THE PARENTS BEHAVE LIKE THEY DO? I THINK THE FEW TEARS THAT BVD DID SHED WERE FOR SHOW ONLY...EITHER THAT, OR SHE IS SCARED AS HELL ABOUT BEING FOUND OUT....SOMETIMES THE LAST PERSON YOU WOULD EXPECT TURNS OUT TO BE THE SUSPECT

Comment

Threads everyone should read
Thanks, SanteeDad, for bumping this thread and the "Dogs, Doors, and Lights" thread back to the top. These are threads that everyone who cares about this case should read.

And think very seriously about.
__________________

http://forums.signonsandiego.com/showthread.php?t=1034
I had heard the same thing.. about the underwear being tested as her DNA but was found in her room. I was shocked when the woman on court tv was interviewing a defense lawyer and they were discussing Danielle's underwear being in DW's house. I am pretty sure it was just a mistake. (pretty big one) but I was just wondering if anyone else had heard it on court tv or at the trial. I see some of the feed from it but a lot of it is interrupted.

...i find this element of the case to be incredibly sad. if the dog had been able to bark, things probably never would have happened this way. it's horrible to think that the dog wanted to let his family know about an intruder but he was unable to help/do his job. dogs are amazing security because of their intruder notification barking, and weimeraners, to my knowledge are not very barky dogs, i.e. they bark when they have something important to say. so what kind of breeder would remove the voice boxes of these puppies? i've just never heard of that and thinks it's totally unhumane. usually this is done on adult dogs that have severe barking problems (usually due to owner neglect or separation anxiety) that can't be fixed in any other way (btw citronella collars are highly effective for this problem). again, this is another sad part of a very very sad case.

...Just for clarification...

Their puppy is one year old, as is my Weimaraner who is 70lbs, so it is a large dog. My dog is rambunctious and very hyper at times and has not quite mastered her coordination yet, so bumps into things a lot - she has never come close to busting her nose open to the extent that was described by BVD. That's not to say she couldn't, but I find it highly unlikely that she could bust open her nose merely from bumping into me.

Their dog has NOT had it's larynx removed but was bought from a 'breeder' who removed the larynxs of their dogs. BVD said she didn't know why it didn't bark, referring to the fact that it does have it's larynx and is capable. I read a post on here a while ago from someone who claimed to either be a neighbor or know a neighbor of theirs who said their dog barked actually did bark a lot, but haven't heard anything since.

The use of a psychic medium detective may provide information from the point-of-view of the missing person or the victim of a cold case file. For example, by merging energies with the missing person, a psychic may be able to describe a kidnapper's or murderer's height, hair and eye color, scars or tattoos, hear names or conversations, or feel what is in the mind and body of the missing person. On the other hand, it is possible to be "in" the mind and body of the kidnapper or murderer and provide insight as to why they took someone, how, when and where they have been or where they are now.

Just as each psychic reading or spirit connection is different, so it is in assisting someone in finding a missing person. When you ask for my assistance, I will ask you for very little information so that I can use my psychic abilities to gain information that you may or may not already have. I make no guarantee that I will solve a crime, as that is for those trained in law enforcement, and rarely is a psychic 100% accurate, since the images, feelings and words received are subjective (meaning I may interpret them based on my life experience). What I promise you is my best ability to give you a new perspective, a clue, a message that will provide you with assistance and potentially resolution.

If you are skeptical about how a Psychic Medium Detective receives valid information, please read Danielle's story on the left. It is because of her strong and persistent spirit that I have decided to offer my services in this field.
(Danielle Hill-Alvarado)

I have been told by other Psychic Detectives to stay emotionally detached, to offer the information as I receive it and then know that my job is done (we don't solve crimes) and to pace myself, as this work is extremely demanding. I am sure as I continue to work with clients, I will truly begin to understand their advice and thank those that have graciously spoken so frankly with me about their line of work.
My Pledge to You

All information is confidential.

We will both sign a confidentiality agreement before working together. No exceptions.
How to get Assistance

Comment

GIRL, DISAPPEARED: No headlines screamed when a troubled 17-year-old vanished four years ago. And despite her mother’s tireless efforts, Terry Reyes' fate is still a blank.

By Joline Gutirrez Krueger

Tribune Reporter

Teresa Reyes still looks for her missing daughter in the sad, sunken eyes of the lost girls on Central Avenue, in places crowded with misery and angry dreams, in psychic visions and in police reports and on her own stairway.

OPEN

FILES:

An occasional series on unsolved cases

Every aching dawn Reyes still stands at her kitchen window and gazes at those stairs, envisioning her dark-haired daughter climbing up, coming home, at last.

She sees her daughter still 17, still giddy and beautiful and alive as she was when she vanished from her bedroom like the breeze of a summer night four long years ago this month.

Her daughter never comes.

"I cry a lot," she said, the sorrow pressing down on her weary shoulders like tombstones. "I am always driving, always doing something to find her. I feel guilty. I blame myself. Maybe I didn’t do enough. Every day is not easy. I feel like, why am I laughing? I don’t know if she is cold or hungry. I don’t know if she is alive or dead."

Not knowing, Reyes said, is worse than knowing that her daughter is selling her body on the streets, as one detective speculated. Or that her body is strewn somewhere on a barren mesa, as one psychic divined.

Comment

Van Dam case helped change sexual predator laws
(Still waiting for the law that holds the law ACCOUNTABLE.)

By: TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer
Friday, February 2, 2007
NCtimes.com

It's a terrifying thought: A child who is there when you kiss them good night, but gone by morning.

Today marks the grim, five-year anniversary of that scenario for the family of Danielle van Dam, who was snatched from her Sabre Springs home.

The days that followed brought a massive search for the 7-year-old, ending with the discovery of her body in East County a few weeks later. And the months that followed brought a summertime murder trial that gripped the region.

In the time since, the man convicted of killing the girl has been put on death row, and Danielle's family has started up a foundation in her name to promote child-safety measures.

Although David Westerfield, the man sitting on death row for the murder of Danielle, was not charged with a sex crime ---- her body was too decomposed to yield evidence of sexual abuse ---- allegations swirled that the case involved a sexual crime, and child pornography was found on his computer.

Danielle's kidnap and slaying case triggered a push to pass legislation dubbed Project KidSafe, a slew of bills focusing on preventing sex crimes, as well as the tracking and sentencing of sex offenders. Some made it into law, others died in legislative committees or failed to qualify as ballot initiates, still other pieces of the bills recently passed as parts of other legislation.

Among the ideas that landed into law is one that gives rise statewide to task forces designed to combat sex crimes and monitor sex offenders.

"We've got a tighter safety net than we had before," said state Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, a Republican who represents Temecula and parts of East and North County. Hollingsworth is one of the creators of Project KidSafe.

The February 2002 kidnapping and murder of the second-grader thrust the van Dam family into the national spotlight alongside other names famed in a string of disappearances that garnered media attention that year. The middle-of-the-night kidnapping of Utah teenager Elizabeth Smart and the kidnapping and murder of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion from her Orange County home also made headlines in 2002.

...The murders of Danielle and Samantha made Hollingsworth feel "a responsibility that I had to do something," he said. Hollingsworth, along with Assemblyman Jay LaSuer, R-La Mesa, created Project KidSafe.
(Where is the responsibility to find the TRUE perps?)

One new Project KidSafe law grew directly out of the Westerfield case. Under the new law, the courts treat child pornography like drugs or contraband, limiting the distribution or reproduction of it. Now, defense attorneys cannot receive copies of the child pornography evidence, but must inspect in an evidence room under the eye of law enforcement. Hollngsworth said the point of the bill is to prevent further victimization of the children in the photos.

Another new law created sexual assault task forces to prevent sex crimes and monitor sex offenders. Thus far, a handful of counties have created such task forces, including large teams in San Diego and Riverside counties.

The Legislature passed most of that bill, and last year Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger included $6 million in his budget for the task forces. For the coming fiscal year, the governor has again asked that the tasks forces get $6 million.

Hollingsworth said he has accompanied officers from the San Diego Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Task Force ---- a team of investigators from city, county and state law enforcement agencies ---- on ride-alongs and was "impressed."

"It accomplishes all that I imagined it would with the legislation," Hollingsworth said. "That's the kind of thing that keeps these sex offenders on the straight and narrow."

Save for task force and child pornography bills, few of the child-protection bills passed through the Legislature at first, so supporters turned to voters in 2003 and 2004, creating ballot initiatives that supporters said would tighten monitoring of sex offenders and stiffen their punishments. Those initiatives fell short.

Still, it was not the end of the effort. Many other pieces of the Project KidSafe legislation found their way into the state's Jessica's Law bill, which was co-authored by Hollingsworth and passed in Sacramento last fall.

Danielle's disappearance

Blonde-haired, blue-eyed Danielle met the balding, then-49-year-old David Westerfield for the first time just days before she disappeared. The girl, accompanied by her mother, went door-to-door selling Girl Scout cookies. Westerfield lived two doors down.

Her parents put her to bed late Feb. 1, 2002. The next morning, they found her canopied bed empty.
(But somebody discovered her missing on FRIDAY night.)

By Feb. 26, 2002, county prosecutors charged him with murder, even though there was no sign of Danielle.

The next day, nearly four weeks after she disappeared, searchers found the little girl's nude and badly decomposed body under an oak tree in Dehesa, a rural area east of El Cajon.
(Why wasn't he offered a plea deal when he was charged? Ott and Keyser determined he wanted a plea deal on the 4th. What took so long?)

The case against Westerfield moved fast. By June 2002, jurors were seated and his murder trial began.

After deliberating for 10 days, the jury found Westerfield guilty of kidnapping and murder. The same panel recommended the death penalty.

Killer awaiting attorney for appeal

Today, Westerfield sits in San Quentin State Prison, home of California's death row. Under state law, his sentence was automatically appealed to the California Supreme Court.

...His office is just now appointing attorneys for people sent to death row in mid- to late 2002, but the appointment of an appellate attorney for Westerfield "will definitely occur in 2007," Reichman said.

'Remember me always'

As Westerfield's case works its way through the courts, and as lawmakers push for tougher punishments on certain crimes, memorials for Danielle serve as stark reminders of what happened in 2002.

Officials renamed the Interstate 8 overpass of Second Street in El Cajon the "Danielle van Dam Memorial Overpass," and her family attended the dedication ceremony on July 9, 2004.

And visitors to Petco Park may notice the seven memorial bricks in the ballpark's Frozen Rope section inscribed for the little girl, including one reading "We miss you Danielle" and another inscribed "Forever seven."

Hundreds of people bundled in blankets and winter coats said goodbye to Danielle van Dam yesterday as her parents released white doves into a cloud-filled sky.

Brenda and Damon van Dam sobbed openly during the public memorial at their daughter's favorite beach, La Jolla Shores. They hugged their two young sons throughout the hour-long ceremony, and at one point, each parent wiped tears from 10-year-old Derrick's eyes.

The van Dams reported their daughter missing early Feb. 2 after they went to wake her and found an empty bed. Nearly a month later, searchers discovered her nude body on the side of the road in rural East County. A neighbor has been arrested and charged with kidnapping and murdering the 7-year-old.

(THE VAN DAMME CASE Although, Danielle Van Damme went missing on Friday night, February 1, 2002. The child was not reported missing until Saturday, February 2, 2002. Mr. Van Damme, Damon, stayed home with the kids while mom, Brenda, went out.
I am going to shove this down your throats until somebody chokes on it!!! It took 8+ years to find.
It does make a difference when crucial FACTS are left out, doesn't it? Completely changes who the OBVIOUS SUSPECTS would be, I believe.)

Comment

Q. How quickly would you say that was after you got home from your t-ball meeting?
A. It happened within -- it happened under a half an hour. It could have been 15 minutes. It was pretty quick.

Q. Did you do anything to aid or assist them?

A. I brought them water. Another neighbor brought them bananas or something to give them some food. We brought them lounge chairs to sit down. They were just sitting on their driveway.

(THE VAN DAMME CASE Although, Danielle Van Damme went missing on Friday night, February 1, 2002. The child was not reported missing until Saturday, February 2, 2002. Mr. Van Damme, Damon, stayed home with the kids while mom, Brenda, went out.)

...Quotes from Mr. Pierce:
DHP In my opinion: “Upon leaving the van Dam house on February 6, 2002” they know damn well she’s not coming back”

DHP In my opinion: “After leaving the van Dam, I knew she was dead, I’m not a mystic or psychic and have no special talents from God. I was convinced over, and over again by both mother and especially the father of Danielle that she was not coming back”
(But what about the call from SDPD on the 15th?)

DHP In my opinion: “I believe the father Damon than cleaned up Danielle's bedroom prior to the return of the mother”

DHP In my opinion: I believe Damon van Dam left his home two times during Friday night and Saturday morning.(02-01-02-02-02-02). One time he went to Dad's restaurant in Poway, one time he drove to Dehesa Road”

DHP In my opinion: “After spending seven hours in Van Dam home I believe the real time line of the death and removal of Danielle Nicole then down was between 8:30 PM Friday night into 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning. This is the real time line for opportunity for the crime. We have heard many different time lines. That opened the window for other potential suspects. I would ask you not to become confused any longer!

DHP In my opinion: “I believe that Daniel Nicole Van Dam was dead and removed from the home before the return of her mother at 2:30 AM pst February 2, 2002

DHP In my opinion: “I will never believe someone broke into the Van Dam House “

Too much confinement leads to hyperactivity and destructiveness, as does being left alone too much. A bored Weimaraner will bark up a storm, demolish your home and yard, even attempt to escape in search of adventure.

Q: IT'S A PUPPY BUT IT'S A VERY ACTIVE PUPPY, ISN'T IT?

A: YEAH. THEY KEPT IT IN A CAGE A LOT OR KENNEL, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE KEEP IT UNDER WRAPS, YOU KNOW.

...

A. OUR POOR DOG'S NEGLECTED. SHE NEVER GETS WALKED.
MAYBE ONCE EVERY THREE WEEKS OR ONCE A MONTH.

Is watchful with strangers, so makes a keen watchdog (with a booming bark)

Vinny Gambini: When you look at the bricks from the right angle, they're as thin as this playing card. His whole case is an illusion, a magic trick. It has to be an illusion, 'cause you're innocent. Nobody - I mean nobody - pulls the wool over the eyes of a Gambini, especially this one.

Vinny Gambini: When you look at the bricks from the right angle, they're as thin as this playing card. His whole case is an illusion, a magic trick. It has to be an illusion, 'cause you're innocent. Nobody - I mean nobody - pulls the wool over the eyes of a Gambini, especially this one.

According to investigative reports, Brenda van Dam received a telephone call on February 15, 2002, from an unknown male. The male asked her if she "wanted her daughter back." The male stated' that Danielle had been "abused" but was "alive."

Based on this telephone call, the San Diego Police Department sought and obtained a search warrant permitting the installation and use of a “trap and trace" to identify the telephone numbers location, and name and address of the telephones used to call the Van Dams. The telephone call is hearsay but falls within Evidence Code section 1230, governing declarations against penal interest.

THE TELEPHONE CALL IS ADMISSIBLE AS A DECLARATION AGAINST PENAL INTEREST

Evidence Code section 1230 makes admissible a statement that "' so far subject [a] [the declarant] to the risk of civil or criminal liability, or create[s] such a risk of making' him an object of hatred, ridicule, or social disgrace in the community, that a reasonable man in his position would not have made the statement unless fie believed it to be true.. I The only other prerequisite for admission of the statement is that the declarant must be "unavailable as a witness."

The telephone call to Brenda van Dam that Danielle was "alive but abused," and asking Mrs. van Dam if she "wanted her child back" are statements that would subject the declarant to criminal liability and would certainly make him an object of "hatred, ridicule, or social disgrace. such statements are admissible regardless of the availability 'of the declarant to testify as a witness. (People v. Spriggs (1964) 60 Cal.2d 868.)

THE STATEMENT IS TRUSTWORTHY

The San Diego Police Department was concerned enough about the call that they immediately requested a search warrant to install "a trap and trace" device to trace the suspect's call. In applying for the search warrant, Detective George Alldredge, who conducted much of the investigation in the case, related:

I am aware the nature of kidnapping or child abduction crimes often involves multiple telephone calls between the family members and perpetrator(s) and it is critical that we find the identify of the perpetrator.
My experience and training have revealed that persons involved in child abduction cases often keep in contact with their victims. They do this because the crime necessarily requires that the perpetrator be in contact with the victims, Additionally, based on conversations with FBI agents that handle hundreds of child abduction cases throughout the world, I am aware of sometimes the perpetrator will call the victims to provide' the location of the abducted child without identifying themselves.
(Could he be talking about Dehesa?)

According to the detective's sworn affidavit, this call was possibly made by a perpetrator of the offense. This affidavit relating the officer's and FBI's sworn opinions regarding child abductions is strong evidence of its trustworthiness. Indeed, the telephone call and the officer's sworn opinion provided a sufficient basis to issue the search warrant to trace the calls to the van Dam house.

Moreover, the defense has now introduced scientific evidence that tends to prove that Danielle van Dam was alive on February 15. David Faulkner, an entomologist who assisted law enforcement in the investigation of the van Dam homicide, testified that the earliest post-mortem interval, or time of death, would he February 16, the day after Brenda van Dam received the phone call.

This call has become critical to the defense because it corroborates the defense theory of the case. The constitutional right to present a defense is embodied in. the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to. the federal constitution. The Supreme court has made clear that the erroneous exclusion of critical corroborative defense evidence may violation the Fifth Amendment due process right to a fair trial and the Sixth Amendment right to present a defense. (Chambers v. Mississippi (1973) 410 U.S. 284,
294 (35 L.Ed.2d 297; 93 S.Ct. 10381 ; Washington v. Texas (1967) 388
U.S. 14, 18-19 18 L.Ed.2d 1019; 87 S.Ct. 19201.)

The telephone call corroborates the defense theory that Danielle was alive on February 15, at a time when Mr. Westerfield was under 24 hour surveillance by the police and media and could not have been harboring a seven year-old. By February 15th, Mr. Westerfield's house, motor home and sport utility vehicle had been thoroughly searched. By seeking a search warrant, the police apparently took this telephone call very seriously and believed it was credible based on their investigations of child abduction cases.

I saw Paula Call from television interview's as shown on CBS-Los
Angeles as the van Dam's family representative. I did a Yahoo search
and found her home telephone number.

We spoke until 1:30 a/pt 02-06-02 about the following things

1. The van Dam's wanted to meet you in the morning, they are too
tired tonight.
2. He told me that he was a coworker at Q.Corp., and were very
close friends.
3. The van Dam's have 5 close friends that are in law enforcement.
Tomorrow you will meet one of them. ( Diane Halfman ). I asked him
are they involved in the investigation? He changed the topic.
4. We talked about the media coverage. He said Today Show-
NBC paid the van Dam's $10,000.00 for their appearence on
Tuesday morning. I commented that was great coverage for Danielle.
He said Brenda was very angry. I asked why he said, "because Katie
Couric did not interview her. She did not want Ann to Interview her.
She only wanted Katie Couric."
5. I asked why there was no reward? Bill Libby said that there was a
meeting on Sunday night ( 02-03-02 ) he was present along with all
their friends and family. They started talking about putting a reward
together they all agreed, but Damon became very angry and stood up
and screamed out "NO REWARD FOR DANIELLE." I asked him
why? He said, "Douglas I don't know, I still can't understand why."
I asked did the mother want to do a reward for her daughter? He
said, "Yes we all agreed, and wanted to continue to talk about it but
he walked away angry.
6. I asked if there was a minister helping the family he said, "the van
Dam's do not have their own church, we have asked our family pastor
to help the family."
7. I asked does the family have an attorney? Bill Libby said, "No, the
only person who asked for an attorney was Sara France-Mueller the
public relations person for the van Dam's. I asked why? He said, "she
would not be able to help them."
8. I asked about the Neighbor's he said that on Friday night ( 02-01-02 )
that Damon took the entire family next door to meet their new neighbors
around dinner time **** Same neighbor Damon first goes to on Saturday
morning 02-02-02, and asked if Danielle was there because she sleep
walks. THIS IS THE ONLY PERSON NOT RELATED TO THE VAN DAMS
THAT LAST SAW DANIELLE ALIVE***
9. I asked about David Westerfield he said, "He did not know him."
10. Bill Libby talked about a trip to Italy that Damon had planned and at
the last moment he changed the plans for the entire family to go.
When Damon travels he takes the boys, and Brenda takes care of
Danielle.
11. He told me that they planned to go to the camping in the
mountains that weekend just him and Damon and their boys. He was
not sure why Damon cancelled the trip at the last moment.

If you had introduced me to Bill Libby as the father of Danielle both on
02-05-02 and 02-06-02, I would have believed he was her loving
father. This man tried and toiled over every conceivable way to help
find Danielle. His compassion for Danielle stood out far beyond all the
people I met that night and the next day in the van Dam home
( excluding Danielle's Grandparents ). He was responsible for
implementing the Laura Recovery Center. ( I will discuss this later. )
***I know he is not Danielle's biological father, but he genuinely acted
like her father.***